It would be my guess that it had something to do with Middlesex in England. I'm just guessing here...perhaps the founders had ancestors from that area?
Or perhaps it's something a little more...exoctic. LOL
BTW, Mick...I read a comment on another site that the gain Friday may have had something to do with a "rebalancing" of the S&P 600.
U.S. Stocks Fall Amid Index Reshuffle; General Electric Drops
June 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks slumped in the session's last few minutes amid the busiest trading on the New York Stock Exchange in seven weeks as investors implemented changes in benchmark indexes.
The membership of the Frank Russell Co.'s indexes, and stocks' weightings in the benchmarks, shifted in an annual process to ensure they reflect the market. General Electric Co. and Pfizer Inc. led the drop in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
The late surge in trading ``reflected all the stocks that came in and out of the Russell' indexes, said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. in Boston. ``Today, everything was exaggerated by the volatility due to the Russell rebalance. It's a once-a-year event and we will probably erase it on Monday.'
The S&P 500 lost 6.22, or 0.6 percent, to 1134.43 after climbing as much as 0.5 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 71.97, or 0.7 percent, to 10,371.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 9.90, or 0.5 percent, to 2025.47.
This week, the S&P 500 lost less than 0.1 percent, while the Dow average declined 0.4 percent for its first weekly drop in five. The Nasdaq climbed 2 percent.
Eight stocks advanced for every seven that declined on the New York Stock Exchange. Some 1.82 billion shares changed hands on the Big Board in the busiest trading since May 10. It was the second time in the last 21 sessions that trading exceeded this year's daily average.
Russell Rebalancing
General Electric, the largest company by market value, was down 37 cents about 10 minutes before the market's close. It finished $1.09 lower at $32.18. Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, traded as low as $34.15 for most of the day and closed down 99 cents at $33.82.
The erratic trading was related to the so-called Russell rebalancing, which took effect at the market's close, said Neil Massa, a trader at John Hancock Advisers Inc. in Boston.
The firm's Russell 3000 Index tracks the 3,000 largest companies by market value. The top third go into the Russell 1000 Index, and the rest go into the Russell 2000 Index, a benchmark for shares of smaller companies. Companies' weight in the indexes is also adjusted to reflect changes in market value and the number of shares outstanding.
More than $300 billion is invested in funds that rely on Russell's U.S. indexes as models, according to the firm. Investors who mimic the indexes must buy shares of companies being added and sell those being removed. Money managers who use the measures as benchmarks also may buy or sell stocks involved in the rebalancing.
The median market value of Russell 2000 stocks at last year's reshuffling was $352 million. That index has since surged 32 percent. Today, it jumped 8.65, or 1.5 percent, to 587.70.
Nasdaq's Closing
As the market closed, some Nasdaq stocks had ``some really crazy moves,' said Dan Mathisson, head of electronic trading at Credit Suisse First Boston.
For example, shares of Altera Corp., the world's second- largest maker of programmable semiconductors, traded little changed near $21 all day. At 4:01 p.m. and 21 seconds, it traded at $21.48. At 4:01 and 31 seconds, 847,000 shares traded at a closing price of $25.50.
Mathisson said the cause was the Nasdaq's ``closing cross,' a system introduced this year. Like the New York Stock Exchange's market-on-close orders, Nasdaq's closing cross allows investors to place orders up to 3:50 p.m. on the Nasdaq to receive a single closing price. After that, it publishes continuous information about imbalances between buy and sell orders.
Traders apparently ignored notices of a buy imbalance on Altera, accounting for the swing.
``I would consider it a mess,' Mathisson said. ``You have massive price dislocations on the close that were very unfair to a lot of people. There was someone on the wrong side of all these trades.'
Nasdaq spokeswoman Bethany Sherman said the closing cross was a success, with 333.5 million shares traded. ``True prices were discovered by the electronic transparent auction process,' she said.
Wilshire Falls
The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index, the broadest measure of U.S. shares, fell 34.55, or 0.3 percent, to 11,077.74. Based on changes in the index, the total value of U.S stocks declined by $41.5 billion.
The S&P 500 bounced between gains and losses for a sixth straight day as investors tried to gauge the impact of events scheduled for Wednesday. The Federal Reserve will announce its interest-rate decision and the U.S. is due to hand off power in Iraq to an interim government that day.
The central bank may lift its overnight lending rate by 0.25 percentage point from a 46-year low of 1 percent to head off accelerating prices, according to the median economist estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.
Anticipation
``This has probably been the most anticipated interest-rate increase in the history of mankind,' said Douglas Foreman, chief investment officer at TCW Asset Management Co., which oversees $44 billion in Los Angeles. ``At some point, investors will have fully digested the increase in rates and look to continued earnings growth.'
The personal consumption expenditures price index -- a measure of inflation monitored by Fed policy makers -- rose at a 3.2 percent annual pace, the Commerce Department said. The rate is faster than the 3 percent previously reported. In the same report, figures showed the gross domestic product increased at a 3.9 percent annual rate last quarter, less than the 4.4 percent estimate given in May.
``Inflation is creeping,' said Massa. When policy makers make their announcement on Wednesday, ``maybe the language will change, indicating they will be more aggressive in August, which the markets aren't prepared for.'
Nike Climbs
Nike Inc., the No. 1 maker of athletic footwear, climbed $2.91 to $75.31. The company posted first-quarter net income of $1.13 a share, up from 92 cents a year earlier. Profit beat the average analyst estimate of $1.08 in a Thomson Financial poll. Nike's board authorized the repurchase of $1.5 billion in stock.
For the year, the S&P 500 is up 2 percent while profits for its members are expected to increase 18.6 percent, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson. Analysts have raised their earnings growth forecast for the second quarter to 20.8 percent from 14.9 percent at the end of March, said Thomson.
Companies with asbestos liability advanced after Senate Democrats proposed a resolution to a legislative stalemate over a trust fund for compensating asbestos-exposure victims. W.R. Grace & Co. gained 58 cents to $6.50, McDermott International Inc. added 34 cents to $10.21.
Titan Plunges
Titan Corp., which Lockheed Martin Corp. had sought to acquire, slumped $3.71 to $14.53 after failing to settle a criminal investigation by today's deadline. The company said Lockheed won't extend the deadline.
Titan's $1.66 billion sale to Lockheed had been delayed twice amid a U.S. probe of whether consultants for Titan, a provider of translators to the military, bribed foreign officials. Lockheed said in April that completion of the deal was contingent on resolution of the probe. Its offer to buy Titan expired at 5 p.m. New York time.
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